One Sunset
by The Light-Hearted Fool
Summary: Ocarina of Time - Link must muse over Sheik's existance, for it is actually not easy to discover that someone you are close to may not even exist. Fortunately, someone comes by to clear the matter.


**Title:** One Sunset  
**Author:** The Jester**  
****Rating:**PG-13, I suppose  
**Warnings:** I can't really think of any, unless you think non-sexual nudity and homosexuality are warnings. Well, I guess there's a mild AU warning.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to the game or any ideas from the manga, neither am I making – or seeking to make – any monetary profit.

**Dedication:** This is for the people who think Sheik is a girl simply because Sheik is Zelda. This is, of course, also for people who are annoyed by people who think Sheik is a girl, just because he's Zelda.

* * *

"_As a Sage, I can return you to your original time with it."_

"…_Can I think, first?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I want to think, first, while I know my mind will be clear."_

"_What's wrong, Link?"_

"_I don't… please, Zelda? Just a day, two at most, and I'll go back without complaint."_

Sheik was an illusion. He was no more than a guise used by Zelda to avoid Ganondorf. Reminding himself of it did nothing; Link still didn't know how to feel, or what to think. He was torn between emptiness and mourning. Was it even proper to think of mourning when no one had died?

"Can an idea die?" Link questioned aloud. His voice didn't even break the silence, for it seemed to swallow sound and press ever closer.

There was no answer to his question. Neither was there a helpful youth to appear behind him, at the most perfectly timed moments, to offer any crucial advice. Realizing that, Link felt increasingly more alone. Maybe he shouldn't have asked Navi to let him alone for a few hours. The company would have been nice.

It was almost humiliating, actually. How many people could say they fell in love with a disguise? What's more – how many people could say they fell in love with a disguise and were _dismayed_ to discover the guise was actually the fair Princess Zelda? Link was sure there were a good many that would consider both the same, and would see Zelda, still, as their loved-one. In fact, some would probably love Zelda more than the guise that she so easily cast aside.

_But they __**aren't**__ the same…_ Link thought, idly pulling blades of grass apart. _Maybe I should see if I can talk to Saria…_

Looking down at the yellow-green grass of the field, Link didn't have a very wide range of sight. He didn't notice anyone approaching until he saw a dark blue boot step near his knee. It was impossible to _not_ recognize those boots. A new wave of negative feelings briefly washed over him and he refused to look up. He didn't want to have any false conversations with a sham.

After a moment, Sheik—_Zelda_—sat down next to him. That flurry of unpleasant and anxious feelings intensified. He didn't know how to react. He wanted to lash out. He wanted to demand why Zelda did that. Most of all, he wanted her to just let him alone and think.

"Zelda didn't know, Link." Shei—_Zelda_ said.

_Link doesn't care_, he thought, scoffing quietly. "This," he waved his hand in… whoever's direction, not bothering to look over, "is unnecessary."

"I didn't know, either."

"That's not funny," Link snapped, glaring over at the illusion. It was as if the illusion was never revealed. Sheik sat there, looking calm as always; looking for all the world as if Zelda was the one who didn't exist.

"I'm not being funny," he (_she_) replied, simply.

_He doesn't sound like Zelda_, he thought. Some corner of his mind wanted to capture that thin, vain hope. However, Link's dour mood cast it aside.

Sheik sighed (Link needed to stop thinking of her as Sheik), "Link, just listen to me a moment—"

"I remember listening to you a lot," Link snapped. "Oddly, your identity came up much later than—"

Sheik returned Link's interruption with another, "I am _my_ identity. Zelda is hers."

"You can't tell me that after telling me that you're Zelda!" Link cried.

"An entity is a whole, but a whole is made of parts. To say that one part has the same identity as another is not always true. You fought Ganondorf—"

"Yes, and you—_Zelda—_were—"

"_You fought Ganondorf_," Sheik restated sternly, giving Link a warning look, "so you should _know_ that one can contain two parts that are not one identity. Ganondorf and the monster he turned into are the same entity, but not the same identity. Ganondorf relied on more than brute force. He knew high magic and was tactical in his maneuvers. That beast, however, was mindless. It likely would have preferred ripping his victims apart with his bare hands, over any other method Ganondorf would have preferred.

"They were, and weren't, the same."

Link sat there for a moment, taking in what was said. Part of him was _certain_ that the whole thing was Zelda just pacifying him before she sent him back. Of course, that desperately hopeful part was willing to give Sheik the benefit of the doubt.

Struck by a sudden curiosity, Link reached for Sheik's face. Sheik's warning glare renewed itself, but he pulled away too late. Link snagged the edge of Sheik's facemask. They both sat, unmoving, for another moment of heavy silence; Link did not remove his hand and Sheik made no more to remove it, himself. Having no reason to fear a severed hand, and having nothing else to lose, Link pulled the facemask down.

What he saw was not Zelda's face.

Sheik had his tan skin, crimson eyes, and a nose that was near aquiline. His lips were not full, pink, and feminine. His expression was almost wary, but still held the patience that Link grew to associate with him. Link didn't know what to think of the very un-Zelda like face.

Regardless, his curiosity pressed on. He allowed his actions to follow suit, feeling more confident that Sheik wouldn't be slicing off any fingers. Sheik's garbs, however, were not as allowing as Sheik, himself. It took several aggravating moments grappling with the strips of white cloth before Link managed to undo them. How Sheik even put that on was a mystery.

After the white cloth had been pulled away, the blue shirt under it was easily removed. Even though Sheik's clothes never seemed to hide much, Link had to be sure. He continued his task of undressing Sheik (who continued to be docile) until nothing could have possibly been hidden.

Sheik had nothing of Zelda about him.

Link trailed the tips of his fingers up and down Sheik's side, before asking, "How much of this is real?"

"All of it."

Link shook his head, "No, you… it…" he trailed off with a sigh, not knowing what he wanted to say. Sheik pulled Link's hand up to his throat, and pressed Link's fingertips against it. Link felt a strong pulse, there.

"This is how real I am."

Link gave in, deciding there was no harm in accepting it all. Having decided this, Link had a better idea of what he wanted to do. He pulled Sheik to him for a warm embrace. He wanted to doze in the sun. Everything else could wait; other questions, other issues, going back – none of it was important at that moment.

"Watch the sun set with me," Link said.

"It's barely after midday," Sheik replied.

"It's a really long sunset."

Sheik snorted, "To say the least."

"Watch it with me," Link, again, insisted.

Sheik hesitated for a moment before replying, "Fine. One sunset."

Link smiled as Sheik relaxed into his embrace, "That's all I need."


End file.
